Crossrail Roof Garden Bridge, Canary Wharf, London (UK)

Walking Around Canary Wharf

After having (packed) lunch at the O2 Dome, we took the Jubilee Line from North Greenwich to Canary Wharf. This was only the second or third time I had been to Canary Wharf Station. I did find it a bit confusing. Canary Wharf seems to be a major complex, with the DLR, Tube, shopping centre (mall), shops, eateries etc. There is a map that shows you how to make your way from the station to the office blocks. But as we had come to see the area and I didn’t want to get lost, I decided to make my way to street level. We exited onto Upper Bank Street.

                          

Directions to the bridge: When you exit onto Upper Bank Street, turn left. Walk straight towards S Colonnade (Canada Square). On your left you will see the complex that makes up Canada Square. Carry on straight. Then you reach the junction of the N Colonnade (Canada Square) and Upper Bank Street. If you look up then you can’t really see much. You do see a bridge but it does not look like very much - just a normal bridge connecting two buildings. In my opinion, there needs to be some signage on the bridge. Also the road is rather a quiet road. Walk down the road. In front of you on the right you will see the entrance to some eatery but it also says that this is the Crossrail Garden or eatery (or something like that!). But that gave some clue that it was the entrance to reach the bridge garden.

As this was this first time we had come to Canary Wharf we took a slightly meandering route. I pointed out all the tall office building to my mum, the ones that make up the famous city skyline: JP Morgan, HSBC, Citibank etc. I also pointed out the busy city workers rushing around! This is Canary Wharf. The heart of London’s business and financial centre. When we reached the S Colonnade we took a diversion into Canada Square. Walking along, there in front of us was 1 Canada Square. The most famous building in Canary Wharf (and probably the most famous office block in London). “It was the tallest building in the United Kingdom from 1990 to 2010, standing at 770 feet (235 m) above ground level and containing 50 storeys.” (Wikipedia) It has a white flashing aircraft warning light, especially important due to its proximity to London City Airport.

1 Canada Square

Canada Square is a well developed complex with gardens, cafes, restaurants, shops etc. Seeing as we were there we went into 1 Canada Square. Inside you can walk around in the foyer. There was a restaurant on the far (north) side and some modern art. Obviously, you can’t go up or anything but can walk around. There are security barriers in the middle, these allow authorised people to access the lifts and go up. In the foyer I saw steps and signs going down to the shops and station.

The Roof Garden

The roof garden is a total haven in the middle of what must be this mad, hectic, built up area. It is very peaceful, beautiful and quiet. There are plenty of sitting areas. The garden has been tastefully and thoughtfully designed, drawing on the history of the docks, when Britain traded in the East and in the West. Half of the plants are from the Eastern hemisphere: tea, spices, silk, maple, bamboo etc; and the other half from the Western hemisphere: ferns, banana, coffee etc. There is a point where “East meets West” which is virtually on the Greenwich meridian. The Dock was originally built in 1802, as somewhere for traders and explorers to unload their cargo and discoveries. The new Crossrail station hopes to be opened in 2018.

I love taking picture of plants so there are quite a few!

Read my introduction to my Day Out in London.

“I am the Greatest.” Muhammad Ali Exhibition at the O2. May 2015

Tickets: On the official website the tickets are £18.00 plus £2.75 booking fee, so nearly £21.00 in total. I thought that was a bit much. I bought my tickets from Box Nation http://www.boxnation.com/boxing-news/new-muhammad-ali-o2-arena-exhibition-discounted-ticket-prices/  it was £14.40 plus £2.50 booking fee so £16.90 in total. There was another website which offered £14.50 tickets and just a small card fee but their ticket entry time was 11:30am only and I wanted to get there early. Box Nation offered different time slots. To be honest, I don’t think it would have mattered because we got there nearly half an hour early and I don't think the lady even checked the time. I think the time slots are more relevant at busy periods.

We arrived at 10:40am. It was very quiet. The Dome was quiet. (That's why I think the entry time wouldn't have made too much difference.) We spent about 2 hours in the exhibition, which I was very surprised about. I didn't expect to spend that long there.

Although I am a sports fan, I am not really a boxing fan. But Muhammad Ali transcends sport. His life, his achievements, his fights inside and outside the ring, his principles and what he stood for. Masha'Allah, he is a great man who had more influence than probably he realises but he has used the status that Allah has blessed him with for good. I got the impression that the talk and bravado was simply just that; for his fights. Deep down he is a quiet man.

For the exhibition you are given an audio guide. You see the numbers on the wall (e.g. round 1) and enter it in the guide then listen to the clip. The beginning is a series of rooms dedicated to the early part of his life: where he was born, his family, where /how he learnt to box, his career as an amateur, the Olympics, his conversion to Nation of Islam, his early professional fights, the Vietnam War up until the George Foreman, 1974, fight. Then you reach the rotunda, which is where it got a bit confusing. The rotunda showcases his professional fights. 

There is lots of video footage, his belts, his gowns, the magazine covers etc. But it was hard to follow the audio guide because it was hard to find the numbers around the room. I basically just started listening to the guide in numerical order regardless of where I was standing in the room. But even then the guide wasn't in chronological order. For example, a clip was playing regarding Sonny Liston. But then it talked about all of the fights the early one and the later ones and Sonny Liston’s death; same with George Foreman. So I found it confusing. It wasn’t really in chronological order. There a few additional rooms off the rotunda. They were regarding Henry Cooper and Paddy Monaghan. And the last room reflects on his life post boxing; particularly the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and that moment when he lit the Olympic flame and was given a replacement gold medal. But also his humanitarian work, his efforts to help others, his fight towards peace.

 On the whole, I really liked it. As I mentioned, I’m not a boxing fan but Muhammad Ali is one of those people whose life is about more than just sport. And he made as big an impact outside his field as he did in it. I, like everyone else, knows that Muhammad Ali will always remain a legend in his sport and will always be regarded as one of the greatest ever sportsmen. I found it interesting to learn more about his life, his famous fights and rivalries and I did like seeing the belts and gowns.

Things I didn't like: the confusing rotunda part, as was stated earlier. I also thought it was very loud! In each room or area there was a video tape playing on loop and the volume was quite high. And then you're trying to listen to the audio guide as well. I did actually get a bit of an earache!

I will write some notes and post some more pictures soon, Insha’Allah.